Nevada's November a Mixed Bag

Nevada continued its tradition of waiting until the end of the month to release its previous month's legal sports betting handle and those numbers reveal a bit of a mixed November bag for the state. The overall handle was down, revenues were up and the antiquated mobile betting sign-up procedures continue to plague a state that should at very least be pushing New Jersey as the most productive betting state in the nation.

Through it all, Nevada retains its standing as the second-most successful legal betting state in the US. Their numbers also put the nation in line to eclipse the National Betting Handle-record of $3.3 billion from last month. With Nevada reporting, the National handle stands at over $3 billion with Illinois, which is expected to come in near $500 million, still to come.

That said, the gulf between The Silver State and New Jersey continues to grow wider and until The Strip gets back to regular order and regulators reconsider their in-person requirements for mobile betting, that trend is expected to continue.

Nevada's November

Sportsbooks in Nevada brought in $609,376,849 million in November which approaches record-levels but falls $50.3 million or 7.7% short of October's record-$659,899,331 handle. The state even saw a rare year-over-year handle decrease with November 2019 generating $614,071,721 in bets - 0.8% higher than the handle from November, 2020.

Revenues on the other hand saw a tangible spike in November with Nevada sportsbooks making $61,807,000, a 45.8% increase from October's $42,388,000. The state also topped the previous high GGR of $56.3 million established in September 2018. Year-over-year, revenues climbed a staggering 99.3% from November, 2019's $31,012,000.

November’s total gaming win was $771,163,000 compared to $937,472,000 in November 2019. The state collected nearly $4.2 million in taxes off the $61.8 million in GGR, which also represents a record for Nevada.

Issues Affecting the Nevada Scene

COVID-19 continues to plague Nevada' sports betting industry's bottom line. Firstly, there is the direct affect the coronavirus is having on retail casinos in the state. The Nevada Gaming Control Board identified a year-over-year drop of 32.5% in Gross Gaming Revenues for The Strip alone to $349.8 million in November. The fact that the NBA and NHL seasons were delayed because of COVID-19 also plagued Nevada's bottom line.

Piggybacking on The Strip's issues is the fact that Nevada has yet to shed their in-person requirement for mobile betting. Simply put, with casinos shuttered or operating with a limited capacity and with tourism grinding to a virtual halt in the state, the need for a remote sign-up procedure for mobile betting has never been so important.

The result of Nevada's reluctance to change the sign-up procedures for mobile betting has seen The Silver State fall far behind other legal sports betting Heavyweights. The mobile betting handle in Nevada came in just under $344 million for November, or 56.43% of the overall handle

New Jersey, by contrast has consistently seen 90% of their monthly handles coming via mobile means including November when $872 million of their record $931.6 million handle came from internet-based bets. Other contending states consistently come in around that 90% mark.

The Driver

There was one main driver of the November handle in Nevada. Football dominated like it has never before. That fact comes during a unique period in American sports when the NBA would have been in full-swing in November and the NHL would have also been well-into their Regular Season.

The result is Football being responsible for the huge majority of the overall Nevada handle. $501.8 million of the $609.4 million, or 82.3% – was bet on football in November. December added the NBA and College Football playoff action to the betting menu - hopes are that will help Nevada at least close the gap on New Jersey - a state that is currently looking in its rear-view mirror at The Silver State.

Heading Into 2021

Nevada's standing as the second-most successful sports betting state isn't quite in danger just yet but it could be if the trends continue on the way they are. New Jersey looks untouchable and markets like Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan are threatening to make some noise next year.

Nevada will continue to be plagued by COVID-19 until summer at least. Tourism likely won't return to pre-virus levels until 2022. So, that means Nevada will have to either evolve with regards to their mobile betting platforms or risk further falling down the "Bet-Friendly States List".

The teacher is becoming the student in the US legal sports betting scene. It will be interesting to see if the former teacher is in the mood to learn.